Ranma's Opposite
by Usagi-no-Tsuki-Hi
Summary: A girl... no wait, a guy... nope, a girl. Def. a girl. Except when splashed with cold water. Well, Ranma fans, you get the concept.


Disclaimer- I don't own the Ranma Universe. Rumiko Takashi does. I do, however, own Meiko (she's known as Mei when she's a guy) and Neko. This story takes place about 2 years after Ranma first arrives and he and Akane have decided to get married in another year. (Yes. I changed some things about the end of the series. Sue me.)  
  
Chapter 1: A New and Old Friend  
  
A young man of about 15 years of age walks down the street past the Nekohanten. He has long navy hair, pulled into a low ponytail. He is wearing mint green Chinese training clothes. He has a large pack with a black cat sitting on top of it. He looks down at a piece of paper and then looks around. He stops a man in the street.  
  
"Excuse me, sir. Is this Nerima Tokyo, Japan?"  
  
The older man nods.  
  
The boy smiles, "Great. Can you tell me how to get to the Tendo dojo?"  
  
The man points down the street. "Go down here, take a right, then take your first left. It should be the second house on your left."  
  
"Domo arigatou!" The boy waves while running down the street. IRanma, here I come, finally!/I  
  
Tendo Nabiki was outside on the front lawn, sunbathing. It was a beautiful day.  
  
"Excuse me, is this Tendo Dojo?" Nabiki shades her eyes, looking up. The young man is standing over her, frowning slightly. She smiles. IHe's cute. Too bad he's so young./I  
  
"Yes, it is. I am Tendo Nabiki. How may I help you?" She gets up and stands next to him.  
  
"I'm looking for Saotome Ranma."  
  
"You and everyone else. Come on." She leads him into the back, where female Ranma-chan is fighting Panda Genma.  
  
"Come on, old man! Is that all you got?"  
  
"Ranma! You got a visitor!" Nabiki rolls her eyes. II can bet anything the young man won't recognize Ranma now./I On the contrary, the young man runs forward and hugs Ranma-chan with his whole might.  
  
"I told you I'd come! Didn't I tell you, Ranma?" He smiles down expectantly. Ranma-chan looks up and scratches her head in confusion. The young man looks down at himself. "Aw, crap. I ran into a rainstorm on the way here. Got any hot water?" Ranma-chan nods and points over to a Jacuzzi, which Tendo-san had installed for the Saotomes. The young man grabs his cat and jumps in. A young girl with light blue hair, wearing the same outfit as the young man who just jumped in, pops out with a black panther. Ranma-chan's eyes light up in recognition.  
  
"Meiko-chan! I thought you said you couldn't leave China!" She jumps into the Jacuzzi and comes out as his regular self and scoops up the small girl in a large hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"  
  
Nabiki holds up her hand. "Hang on. What is this crap all about?" Panda nods and holds up a sign. 'Who is this? Not another fiancée?' Ranma grabs the sign from his father and whacks him a good one on the head.  
  
"NO! We should all go inside. This is another story. Like I haven't told you enough!" Ranma folds his arms behind his head.  
  
"I can tell them if you like, Ranma!" The girl grins happily at him.  
  
Ranma softens and flashes a genuine smile. "If you want to, Meiko- chan!"  
  
She giggles and nods. "C'mon, Neko!" The panther meows (can panthers meow?) and follows her in. Nabiki and Panda look at each other and shrug, following the odd pair.  
  
Everyone is seated at the kitchen table. Tendo Soun is at one end, Saotome Genma, after taking a hot bath, sits opposite him. The Tendo girls, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane, sit along one side of the table. Ranma and Meiko sit opposite them, Neko's head in his master's lap. Meiko is absently stroking Neko's head as Ranma begins telling the story.  
  
"Well, when Pop and I were in China, there was a point when we got separated, after the whole Jusenkyo thing. It was probably for a total of four days. Well, I found myself in a village, and I was very tired and hungry. Most people ignored me, but one girl was very kind to me. 'Miss,' she said, because I was in my girl-form, 'are you ok?' I remember telling her that I thought she was the cutest little thing and then I collapsed and passed out."  
  
Meiko, staring down at the table, continued. "I dragged her home and when I gave her a hot bath to clean the muck of travel off her, she turned into a boy. I was used to this, of course. Ranma didn't know this at the time, but I had fallen into the Spring of the Drowned Boy a year before. I just dressed him in some clothes he had in his pack and let him sleep."  
  
"When I woke up, she was sitting over me, smiling. 'I knew you were going to wake soon.' She gave me some really good stew and told me who she was. I told her my name and everything that had happened to me."  
  
"I had been on a training trip similar to his and had just recently gotten back. On the fourth day, he had his strength back. As he prepared to leave, he asked me to come with him, but I couldn't. It was my duty to protect the village from a terror that had plagued the village since before I was born. That was why I had been on the training trip. Everyone recognized the strength I had and decided that I would be their savior. Ranma gave me this address so I could visit him someday. And I promised him I would."  
  
The others sat, stunned. Akane's mind was working at a rapid pace. IWhy did he invite her to come with him? Why did he give her this address? Was he in love with her? Nabiki told me about their "touchy- feely" reunion. Does he still love her?/I Ranma, oblivious that this could be surging through her mind, turned to Meiko.  
  
"Why are you here now? Did you defeat that thing?"  
  
Meiko smiles slightly and nods, not looking up from the table. "It was very difficult and the village was destroyed. I'm the only survivor." Her eyes well up with tears. "Luckily I was an orphan with no direct family and no one had adopted me, but it was like everyone in the village was my family. And now." The tears fall silently onto Neko's furry head. He looks up and makes a deep growl of sympathy. Ranma reaches over and pats her on the shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry, Meiko-chan. You still have me, right? And we can be family!"  
  
She smiles. "Domo, Ranma." She looks up finally, and smiles into his eyes. This lights his face up. II like it when she smiles. It's like everything is right with the world!/I  
  
Tendo-san clears his throat, his arms folded and eyes closed. "This is all well and good, but who are you?" Ranma and Meiko face-fault and everyone else sweat-drops. Ranma and Meiko quickly sit back up.  
  
"My name is Meiko and this is my pet, Neko!" She pats the panther on the head as he seemingly grins at everyone.  
  
Ranma smiles wide. "Well, this is my pop, Saotome Genma. And this is his best friend Tendo Soun, the owner of this dojo. This is his oldest daughter, Kasumi, Nabiki you know, and the youngest, my fiancée, Akane." Each one nods to Meiko as their name is said except Akane. She just eyes the girl warily. Meiko, aware of this, smiles widely at Akane.  
  
"Wow, Ranma made the right choice with you. You're really pretty!" Akane smiles and blushes slightly. II guess she's not THAT bad. She does have taste./I  
  
"Do you have anywhere to stay, dear?" Kasumi smiles kindly at the young girl. (How Kasumi!) When Meiko shakes her head, the young woman turns to Tendo-san. "Father, could she stay here? Then she could cook your meals for you, instead of me cooking all your food at my house and bringing it here."  
  
Tendo-san looks up at Saotome-san and they both nod. "Of course she can stay here. Just as long as she can give Akane cooking lessons and goes to school." Akane's face fills with horror.  
  
"HER?! TEACH ME TO COOK?! If Kasumi couldn't, I don't think SHE can!"  
  
Ranma glares at his fiancée. "SHE has a name, and it's Meiko. And I would feel better if she could stay at our house, Pop. Akane could go on a rampage and kill her! I mean, Meiko is technically my sister now and I don't want her to die or anything."  
  
An argument turns into a full out fight between Ranma, Akane, Tendo- san, and Saotome-san. As they fight, they upset a pot of cold water Kasumi had been about to put on the stove. Kasumi sits with her hand on her cheek, making exclamations of "oh, my" and Nabiki watches with boredom. Mei's eyes fill with tears once again.  
  
"FINE! If you're all going to fight, I'll just find somewhere else to live!" His hands grip the table, his finger making deep ruts in the table. The angry tears pour from his eyes. Everyone freezes; Akane's hands around Ranma-chan's neck, Ranma-chan pushing her hand into Panda's face, Tendo-san's foot buried in Panda's stomach and Panda tugging on Ranma- chan's and Tendo-san's hair. "I'll just find somewhere else to live," he repeats quietly. "Come on, Neko." He stands slowly and begins to walk out, the cat following him. A hand grips his shoulder and he stops.  
  
"Please, stay here. Gomen for this mess. Everything was my fault. I really should learn to control my anger and accept help from others," Akane's voice says from behind him. Mei turns around and sees everyone gazing intently at him. He sighs.  
  
"Alright. But, no offense Ranma, I would rather stay here with Akane and Nabiki. I AM a girl after all!" Looking down at himself, he laughs. "Well, most of the time!" Everyone laughs as Kasumi bustles around, pouring hot water on Ranma-chan, Panda, Neko, and Mei. Akane gives the little girl a big hug.  
  
"Welcome to the family, Meiko-chan!" ^_^  
  
YAY!!!!!! I love Ranma ½! I finally bought the first manga the other day, and reading it inspired me to this! Hopefully, I'll keep up with this. _; Ah, well! PLEASE REVIEW!! ^_^ 3, Bunny 


End file.
